Rear Adm. Dave Welch, commander of Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), presented Lt. Jeremy Blanchette a warfare tactics instructor (WTI) patch from the Naval Information Warfighting Development Center (NIWDC) during a recent ceremony to recognize his achievement.

“The establishment of NIWDC and our WTI program was a significant step forward in our community,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey S. Scheidt, commander of NIWDC. “We count on officers like Jeremy to take their increased levels of knowledge and tactical experience to the fleet to raise levels of capability and readiness across the warfighting domains. We are confident he and his peers are the first of many to come.”

Blanchette is one of the first group of officers in the Navy’s IW community to qualify as a WTI through NIWDC, earning qualification during his assignment at SMWDC.

“I am honored and humbled to be among the first information warfare WTIs,” said Blanchette. “I’m a NIWDC WTI working with the surface community’s experts and surface warfare WTIs at SMWDC. I have a front-line view on the importance of cross-domain integration with WDCs (warfighting development centers) to increase tactical proficiency, lethality and capability of the fleet.”

NIWDC WTIs are information warfare  community officers, senior enlisted and civilians who received advanced training as instructors and tactical expertise within the IW mission areas - command and control/cyberspace operations (C2/CO), electronic warfare (EW), intelligence operations (INTEL Ops), information operations (IO), space, and meteorology and oceanography (METOC).

“This is an important milestone for both SMWDC and NIWDC as we continue to invest in the lethality of our fleet,” said Welch. “I’m extremely proud of Jeremy’s accomplishment and his efforts will serve the fleet well!”

Similar to other warfighting development centers, NIWDC's mission includes training and assessing information warfare forces in advanced tactics, techniques and procedures at the individual, unit, integrated or advanced, and joint levels, ensuring alignment with the information warfare training continuum.

SMWDC is a subordinate command of Commander, U.S. Naval Surface Forces, and is headquartered at Naval Base San Diego, with four divisions in Virginia and California focused on IAMD, ASW/SUW, mine warfare and amphibious warfare.

NIWDC is located on board Naval Support Activity Norfolk. NIWDC leverages the advantages of a multi-domain environment, shifting from traditional platform-centric warfare tactics toward an integrated holistic approach that capitalizes on warfighting power in multiple domains at sea and on shore.

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